Spooky, Gandalf, Rocket and Indy

When it comes to co-raising a litter of kittens, naming them sure is the fun part.

Especially when they are ALL BLACK!!

Needless to say, it took almost 5 weeks until we had a name for all of them.

Especially a name that works for either gender, as we still don't know which ones are boys and which ones are girls. Good thing human babies are easier in that aspect :-)). We "think" there is one boy, but seriously, their little parts look pretty much the same to us.

Sorry, this may be too much information *LOL*

Anyway - back to the naming process:

Gandalf was first - we could tell that this kitty had the most white "fuzz" on the front legs, and since the older kids had just watched "The Lord of the Rings", we named this one "Gandalf the gray". Gandalf is a little bit a loner, often times hanging out by himself, and he is the only one who is not eating solid food yet, and therefore worrying his human "Grandma". And we THINK that Gandalf is actually a girl :-).

Next came "All-black" - see how desperate we were, but this one is the only one who does NOT have any white hair on the legs. "All-Black" was only a temporary name, and Nico finally named it "Indy" (take a guess which new movie he likes!!).

The two other ones were so identical, that it took us the longest to tell them apart. But Elia names his "Rocket" (just like uncle Ronnie's horse that died!), and Rocket has just a few little white specks of hair on top of his ears.

Anya finally decided on a name, and Spooky has some white hair coming out of her ears. So, they are all named and happy little campers.

We finally moved them into the garage, much to the dismay of the Mama cat, who tries to sneak them back into the house.

Wow, baby kittens are so fun, and great entertainment! The picture posted is not a very recent one, but it's so hard to catch them for a picture. They either constantly move, or if we have one outside, it starts crying, and Midnight the Mama comes flying, and drags it back inside right away. So bear with me, I promise there will be more pictures.

What I realized too, and I find it intriguing, is how the little personalities match the child who named it -

Gandalf, the loner, who is doing things later than anyone else, and in his own way - just like Alex

Indy, the frontrunner, with a bit of kitten-firstborn syndrome, just like Nico

Rocket, always active and feisty, just like Elia

Spooky, cute and snuggly, just like the girls (Nina didn't name one, but she decided that Spooky was her favorite, too)

Now we just need to find homes - 2 are spoken for so far. It is going to be a sad, sad day when those little critters have to leave. Makes me all teary too :-))

What amazes me is how Midnight just knows what to do, without reading parenting books or taking classes. Pretty cool!

Red Light, Green light

We've been playing "Red Light, Green Light" lately. Actually, it was last weekend when it suddenly became hugely popular at our house. The little boys taught Nina how to play it, and it was so funny - every time it was "red light", she assumed the cutest "freeze" position. I have no idea where she picked that up, I'm guessing it was at soccer (need to talk to the coach *ha*)

Back up again, and Tornado picture

***Disclaimer*** the picture below was printed in our local newspaper. I was NOT the photographer :-). What we saw was just a little part of a tornado at that time.

We're back in the virtual world!!

I don't function well without internet, I have to admit!

I use it so much, either just for fun, for information, or for business.

I'm much happier now *LOL*

Here is a picture of the recent tornado that hit our town! Pretty impressive, huh! We actually saw it from our house (or at least one of them in the area!)

A funny detail about this picture....Nina was just looking at it, and she exclaimed: "Mama, look, the tomato!"

Internet down...

I thought I was doing really good catching up. But sure enough, our internet went down (something with the wireless "stuff"), and I thought it was because of the severe weather we've been having over the weekend, but I guess it wasn't. They'll come tomorrow to replace the magical box.

We've had terrible thunderstorms, tornadoes (very little damage from what I've heard), hail - you name it - but hey, no SNOW anymore, and that I'm happy about! We spent about an hour in the basement yesterday afternoon, and Anya was so cute - she made sure everyone had their shoes, she brought a couple of games downstairs, and entertained the little ones. She is getting so grown up!

After the storm let up, we made some "Dandelion curls" - if you're looking for free and natural entertainment, find some dandelions, break the stems into pieces (2 - 3 inches long), and then fray the stems from both sides. Then put them in a bowl of water, and they will curl up into the funniest looking little creations. We made those all the time when I was little, and obviously today's kids still like them too.

I took some pictures of it too (of course!!)
If you click on the collage, you get a better look at the "curls" - Nina preferred decorating the bowl with flowers, though, and it looked so beautiful!!

Signing off for today (I hacked into my sister-in-laws network :-) )

Oh, and by the way, Elia's word was WHEEL!!! Good job, Brandee!! Good guesses, everyone else, and thanks for playing!

The baking boy

One of Nico's goals for his "home schooling year" was to learn to cook and to bake. Sadly enough, we didn't have nearly as much time for it as I was hoping for, but he still learned  a few things. The most impressive one is how to braid "Zopf", a traditional Swiss Sunday bread. He does a good job, and he is so proud when we eat "his" bread!

And yes, he DID get a haircut since this picture, and while his hair is still long, it doesn't look quite so unruly anymore :-)

The writing boy

Elia has been amazing us with his early reading and writing skills. He has been practicing with Alex's books from Kindergarten, and has the very early ones mastered. The ones that go like:

"I see the dog, I see the cat..."

"I can eat, I can sleep..."

The last word is usually a picture, but still - it's so fun to see him discover the world of reading and books! Love it!

And now he is trying to write things, too. He'll just go get paper and a pencil to write things down. Sometimes it's when he is mad and wants to write about it, or it is to write a card, or just to pass the time in church :-)

I took pictures of a couple of examples of his writing. I usually have to ask him for the translation, but once I know what he meant, it becomes quite obvious. He is really trying to sound out the words, and the results are so cute!

This one was created after I had to lock up the Wii games because of lots of fighting and no sharing. He was so angry with me, and taped this note to the inside of our entertainment center :-)

It says: "No fighting over the (and then 'over the' again) Wii game (gem)

His letters are highlighted in red

(And of course MOM is obvious, since I was the one he was mad at)

And here is Grandma's Birthday card!

"Happy Birthday Grandma (Grmo)"

And so see who is still reading our blog, here is a little "Elia-Trivia". Can you guess what this word means? He just wrote it a couple of days ago, and neither Mike or I could figure it out. Again, it makes total sense now, so let me hear YOUR best guesses :-)))

"WEOWL"

Post your guess in the comments!

Growing so much!

Before Nina came home last summer, I bought her and Anya a matching dress. 

She wore it once.

On her first day home. 

After that, it disappeared, and I could not find it for the life of me! I was puzzled - and sad, as it represented something special - a new beginning, a day when we were finally all together.

Well, it turned up during the winter - it was at the bottom of a large "to iron" pile, that gets neglected at my house more often than not.

I took some pictures of Nina wearing it, just to see the difference 10 months had made. 

Look for yourself!

July 15, 2007. Our first breakfast at home!

And this is how long this dress used to be!

As I'm labeling this, I'm amazed. This picture was taken on May 15, 2008, exactly 10 months after the first ones!! Look how much shorter her dress is now! And she doesn't have the unsure and scared look on her face anymore, either, but a happy and confident one!

She is so beautiful, and I love how long her hair is getting!

Allright, let me burst your bubble. Here is what she was REALLY thinking about this photo shoot :-))

Yes, that's definitely my girl, too!

"Lamest Blogger" award....

Well, if there is such a thing, I know I have EARNED that one!!
I'm really sorry about my lame blogging habits lately.
I will try to do some catching up over the weekend.
It's not like I don't have some cute pictures to show you, and it's not like our kittens are absolutely ADORABLE and funny.....
Please forgive me....

Happy Mother's Day

When you give a girl a birthday party....

....she'll ask you to have a sleepover. She'll invite her three best friends Katie, Alexis, and Maria.

She'll have to go pick up Katie with her Daddy, and while Maria and Alexis are already at her house waiting, and baking her a birthday cake, she'll almost forget that she needed to be home sooner.

They will finally be united, and ask you to play dress-up. After having dress-up clothes all over her room, they want to make a craft. The birthday girl will have prepared for that, having put together a kit for all her friends beforehand.

Once craft supplies just about cover up the dress-up clothes , they'll ask you to paint their fingernails. You'll refuse, until things are picked up again.

Instead of picking up, they'll chase the boys around the house and beat up the birthday girl's big brother. Running around in their lady- and princess garb reminds them of the playground. They'll want to go outside and play. You'll be thankful for that idea! They'll swing on the swings, play in the sandbox, and play chinese jump rope. They'll get all wet and muddy, and need to come shed their wet socks in the house.

This will remind them of all the things they left unfinished. They'll come back inside.

Coming inside will remind them of how hungry they are. They'll ask you to make dessert pizza for dinner. You'll agree, but you'll make a garlic and chicken pizza to be eaten first. You'll have dinner with 8 kids at the table, and you'll wonder how families with 8 kids do it. They'll love the garlic and chicken pizza, but DEVOUR the dessert pizza.

When their bellies are full, the birthday girl will remember that she has presents to open. She'll open them swiftly.

Opening presents will remind her of a game they could play. They disappear in her room. But since there is no room to play, they'll just talk. Just sitting around will remind them of the birthday cake. They'll ask you to light the candles. You'll let the birthday girl do it. You'll remind them to brush teeth and put on pajamas.

Putting on pajamas will remind them of their plans of soaking their feet and putting on nail polish. They'll ask you permission to do that. You'll decline - again - as it is too late now. The birthday girl will throw a fit and accuse you of all kinds of things that better not be repeated, and you'll try to reason with her. Then you'll ignore her and send her to bed.

Going to bed will remind them that they all want to sleep on a queen sized air mattress. You'll insist on at least 2 of them sleeping in the beds. They'll cuddle anyway once you'll leave the room. Going to bed will also remind them of saying their prayers, and you'll be so thankful for friends that love Jesus, too.

They'll find LOTS of things to talk about yet, and you'll have to remind them several times that it's time to sleep now. Once they are quiet, you'll sink into a chair and breathe a sigh of relief. You'll enjoy the quiet house, and you'll thank the Lord for the gift of children. Sleeping children, at this point.

There'll be a quiet night, at least for a few hours. At daybreak, however, the four princess arise and go soak their feet in the makeshift bathtub spa. They'll be all wet, not just their feet, and they'll ask you to let them dress up again. Actually, did they ask??? It'll all be a blur by then, and since dressing up is just fine with you, you'll let them. Being the 4 ladies again, they'll aks you to let them make pancakes for breakfast. You'll let them do that, too. You'll close your eyes and pretend not to see the trail of their labor of love. They'll make pancakes to their liking, with LOTS of chocolate chips in them. They'll devour those, too.

Eating breakfast will remind them that the party is almost over, and they'll pack up their things. They'll say goodbye, and saying goodbye will remind them of the reason for the party. And they'll leave, saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANYA!

Oh, the SLANG....

I'm not sure if this is funny or embarrassing....

Nina has acquired quite an array of slang words, some acceptable, and some.... well... let's call them borderline :-))

A few days ago, she pranced around the bathroom, doing a lot of hippety-hop because she waits so long to go that it often time ends up being a major crisis. Well, she had to change her undies after this particular time, and I talked to her about not waiting so long and bla bla.... She looked at me and said: "It's okay, Mama, just relax!"

That's one of the acceptable and funny ones...

She has been experimenting quite a bit with the word 'stupid', but is getting better at chosing a different one :-) But hey, we can make sure Mama knows when anybody ELSE is using it!!

Just now she is busy playing with Play-doh, and after much grunting she got her favorite purple Playdoh out of the can. She started kneading it, then muttered: "This is hard - son of a gun!"

Oh, the advantages of having older siblings......

The Star Wars Creator.....

I'm SO IN TROUBLE with my oldest....

I have promised him to blog about his Lego creations, and I STILL have not done it. He is getting really cranky with me!

So, Nico, I think you are doing a GREAT job building Legos!!

I love his creativity, and even though he has a LONG wish list with new sets, he ususally builds the sets he really wants with pieces he already has. And I think that is so cool!!

Here is one of his favorite Star Wars Lego movies!! Hmmmm, it's probably safe to say that about 100 views were him :-)) Or any of his brothers, for that matter!

If you think it's only the boys who LOVE Star Wars, guess again. The girls do too, and even Nina talks about all the different characters.

*Sigh*

I just can't do it.

I know it's a huge deal, but I tried to suffer through one of the movies, and after about 1/2 hour, I just had to give up on the idea of ever understanding what they are talking about pretty much nonstop.

I'm even as far as answering the request for watching a movie with "as long as it's not Star Wars, or Clone Wars - yes!"

Allright, sorry, Nico, I'm getting a bit off track and worked up, here :-)))

The Lego Set "Slave 1" (Bobafett's ship) had been the object of his desire for quite some time (like forever - or so it seemed to me :-) ). The only problem was, it was a set that just got retired. And since kids are just like us grown-ups, if something is out of reach, it becomes even more so a MUST-HAVE!

After much searching we found one on EBay that was actually not much more than the original price had been, and lo and behold, we won the Auction!

Nico had been earning stickers for doing his schoolwork promptly and with a good attitude (which was a desperate measure by his Lego-ed out teacher!!!), and you should have seen him work once he was close, and his new Lego set had been delivered! One night he literally worked until 7pm!!

These first pictures are the set that he designed. To me, that's nothing short of amazing! He really studied this ship, and re-created even the smallest details!

The the day had finally come when he could play with his new set. His very nice teacher even gave him the afternoon off!

His ship goes pretty much everywhere with him. It even watched the kittens being born the other night! I think it liked it :-))

Nico has really been an inspiration to his siblings - and he is always helping them build something, too! They are learning so much from him! Of course his little Shadow (aka Elia) thinks his brother is the coolest guy EVER!!!

I hope I'm redeemed now. I'll have to run this post by the Master later on, and make sure he approves!!

You're not going to believe this.....

It's almost midnight, and Midnight, our black kitty, is GIVING BIRTH as we speak!! I didn't think she was 'due' for at least another week, but I guess cats are as unpredictable as women *ha*.
This is way too tense for me to watch, so I thought I'd update the blog instead. I'm a wuss, I know!
Three have been born so far, all of them are black. She is cleaning up the third one right now!
Nico woke up, and is watching her too! We decided to wake Anya as well, and she was out of bed in a split-second after she heard the news! We figured that this was a unique experience for both of them, as this will be Midnight's only litter!
Oh, yeah, and GUESS where she is having her kittens..... ON MY BED!!!!! (That was NOT my choice, but by the time we found her, it was too late)
Thank goodness for a waterproof mattress pad!!!!
More tomorrow, and pictures, too!
*****
It is morning now, and I moved the Mama kitty off my bed and into her post-partum suite...(aka a very, very old suitcase!) - she was not too impressed with that, but I would really like to sleep in my own CLEAN bed tonight :-) . Needless to say, my bedding is in the wash, and I'm running a SANITIZING cycle on it!
The four little ones are doing well, lots of baby-miaowing going on.
Here is a quick video clip of last night's happenings.
Trust me, there WILL be more pictures, but Mama Midnight is a little leery of all the commotion this morning, and I'm trying to keep the kids away, as she clearly doesn't appreciate their presence.


Afternoon update:
Midnight is a good little Kitty-Mama, and the kittens are doing great. She lets the kids watch her and pet her now, but prefers it quiet. She went outside for the first time, and I seized the opportunity to get some kitten-only pictures. Usually they are all snuggled up to Midnight, and it's hard to really see them, since they're all black. They are SO SOFT!!!
Mike and I were talking about if this gives us a tiny little glimpse into our future as Grandparents.... :-))

Please keep little Josie in your prayers!

This sweet little girl is Josie, who has been home with her family for only 4 weeks. Josie had a heart defect that was surgically repaired today.
Praise the Lord, she is doing GREAT!!
You can read her updates on the Kenward Blog
Please keep praying for her recovery, and for her family - Kim and Chris, and big sister Emma!

Here is super-soccer-girl!

Anya had her first 2 tournaments of the season with her traveling soccer team.
Yesterday I took her to her games, and her friend Maria came with us. Today, Mike took her to a different town for a second tournament.
When you live in Wyoming, and you have kids on a traveling team, they AIN'T KIDDING!
You travel.
You drive hours to a tournament, watch your talented offspring play, and then drive home. This spring, the tournaments are 2 hours away max, which isn't bad. Not for around here :-)).
Last fall, her team was a young team, and they lost. One game after another. It was hard to watch. But the girls had fun, and loved their little team cheer (I really think that was their favorite part!).
This weekend's games were very different. They played 6 games in all, and WON FOUR OF THEM! They were just so excited about it! Gosh, they really deserved it, too!
And they still love their team cheer :-))
Her coaches started to give out a tournament award to the most outstanding player of the day, and today Anya received the award. She was so happy and proud!

Anya is #24, on the left. She is very quick and focused, and a great team player.Yesterday, she played the goalie position for the first time. She kind of liked it, but it made her nervous, too, she said. She likes playing forward the best!
Maria, one of her best friends since Kindergarten!

Summer, where are you?

In eager (or maybe desperate??) anticipation of summer, I bought Nina a new summer dress yesterday. She LOVES dresses, and although she probably has enough of them, I could not resist.

We were out of town for Anya's first soccer tournament of the season, and of course TARGET calls my name anytime I'm near one :-)). I can definitely recommend their selection - cute stuff!

Nina was a bit disgusted that she could not wear it today, but it's only in the 30's again (sigh), so I let her at least try it on and prance around in it before nap time!

Can she be any cuter?

Nina had her first haircut this afternoon. We have been letting her hair grow since last summer, and it has grown LOTS. It was time to even it out a bit and trim the ends.
She really did not want to go to the salon (I did NOT cut it myself.... did that once with Anya, and I will never do it again! I buzz the two little boys, that's all I can do!).
Sitting in a chair and checking herself out in the mirror was all it took to convince her that this was actually FUN!
She loved every minute of pampering, and she was so happy with the results!
I hope she will grow up and realize what a beautiful girl she is! Not in superficial, proud and stuck up way, but in a way that gives her confidence and a love for life and others, because her beauty is inside and out!
Before going down for her nap, we did a quick photo shoot, and she was full of silliness and giggles, it was so funny.

This is what her hair looked like before
During...
getting better and better... (and yes, we're staring INTENTLY!!)
And putting the finishing touches on!

This and That

This is quite a mix and match type of post.
Mike is gone all week, and he took our camera with him. Anya has a nice little camera, too, so I used hers tonight during soccer, and I decided to download all her pictures after we got home.
I found some that I would like to share....

The first one is a cute one of my best friend Andrea's little girl Ella and Miss Nina. I went back to our "old home town" in South Dakota a couple of months ago, and it was nice to introduce Nina to them! Andrea was always so excited and supportive of our adoption plans, and I love her dearly (not just for that reason, of course).
We drove by our old house and visited our old neighbors, who pretty much adopted us while we lived across the street from each other. They are an older couple whom we had so much fun with!
Just as a comparison..... this was in front of the same house in 1999 - Nico was 2, and Anya about 5 months old. And me... almost 10 years younger *LOL*
Then I found a picture of the lunar eclipse on Nina's birthday. Anya must have taken it, and I am so glad she did!
Then here is a picture of tonight's soccer game. It was a late game, and it got really cold after the sun went down. It actually SNOWED earlier this afternoon, but then it had all melted by the time soccer came around. Let me tell you, the weather has been so weird, and I'm so tired of it *Boohoo*

Nico is doing a great job this spring, and he really enjoys soccer. That's him on the left with the black hat!

Nina had a good time tonight. Her and her Mama had quite a disciplinary disagreement last night, and I think she is still mad at me. She decided that she was not going to love me anymore, just because she doesn't want to. Sigh.... I know she will come around again, and she really is not even pushing me away, but to hear those words still stings. I keep reassuring her that I love her anyway, and that Love will grow (that's why I like the poem in the sidebar so much).

So tonight at the game she was partying it up with Grandma, and I think that was really good for her. I pulled her hat down too low at one point, and she thought that it was just the funniest thing ever. She giggled and giggled about it, it was very cute!

Oh, and while I'm catching up on stuff, I'm sure you also want to know that our second Triop died too, a few days after the first one. Poor thing died of "molting complications" - basically he was unable to shed his skin properly. 

And while we have one "pet" less, we are pretty sure that we have a bunch of new ones arriving in about one month. Little  Miss kitty Midnight looks quite pregnant, and the kids are super excited about the prospect of having a litter of kittens soon. It should be around Anya's birthday at the beginning of May - yay! 

I think she sang a song in chinese....

I can't believe it, but I think I may have caught my daughter singing a song in CHINESE!
We hardly EVER heard Nina speak chinese.
Not even in China.
There were a few words here and there, right in the beginning, but after that, NOTHING. She would not speak to our guides, our chinese speaking friends, nobody.
Tonight, while I was cooking dinner, she sat on the counter, coloring. And then she started singing. It was not a song I had heard before, or that reminded me of any other song, and the words sounded very foreign.
I asked her to sing that beautiful song again, this time with my camera hidden, ready to capture the moment, but she just smiled at me and made something up.
I so want to draw those memories she has out of her, so I can help her preserve them. Her life before us has so much validity, it's so special, and she doesn't ever have to hide it, or pretend like that life didn't exist.
How I hope that her song will return.....

PS: Sorry, no swimming pictures again. Our swim - school pick up - and soccer schedule is a bit hectic right now, so I forgot the camera again!

What a way to wake up!

Daughters.
So precious and sweet.
When I woke up, I found a pretty purple, flowery piece of paper on my nightstand.
Anya had written another poem.
It had come to her on the way home from the mailbox this morning, while I was still pretending to be asleep.

The sunrise today
Was so pretty and gay
With a pale blue
And some orange in there, too
The clouds here and there
were spreading everywhere
Oh! The sunrise today
was so pretty and gay!

I finally clambered out of bed, realizing that I could no longer be oblivious to the fact that children needed to be dressed, fed, and sent off to school.

Here comes Nina, hair sticking up in funny directions, frustrated with trying to get her clothes on, but with a little package under one arm, Baby whale under the other.
"Mama, here is a present for you!"

She had wrapped up her little blankie for me, and although her little eyes sparkled while I unwrapped it, she made sure I remembered it was actually hers :-)

It is a good morning.
I'm so blessed.
And sometimes it's so easy to forget that.
Or maybe that's just me.

Maybe I need to get up earlier again (like I used to and loved it!), so the sunrise will inspire me too!

Thank you, girls! I love you!